STUDENT: Nicole Swanson

PROJECT ADVISOR: James Hart

ABSTRACT

This is an aspect of surgery that deals with a large surface area. This is often done because of burns, injury, or surgery to remove diseased skin. This type of surgery is skin grafting. A skin graft is the removal of healthy skin from one part of the body to repair areas of damaged skin in another part of the body. I will be displaying the procedure, the types of skin grafts, aftercare, and risk factors. I will be using a trifold poster to present this.

STUDENT: Allison Theobald

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting can affect the cancer patient and their quality of life. CINV has been treated with antiemetics for over thirty years including corticosteroids, serotonin receptor antagonists, and neurokinin receptor antagonists are the most common. Marinol in the form of dronabinol has been used in cases where typical antiemetics have failed. Dronabinol contains delta-9-tetrahydrocanninbinol making it an active oral cannabinoid. Marinol is an agonist against CB1, a cannabinoid receptor, which prevents proemetic compounds dopamine and serotonin. The use of Marinol and other antiemetics will be further discussed in this presentation.

STUDENT: Mariah Petrucci

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

In this project I will be delving into the effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the effects it has on adults suffering from depression. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psycho-social form of therapy to help with mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression. This therapy is a non-pharmacological treatment, which is a great idea for those who are hesitant to go on medication, or for those who have tried medication and do not like the results. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be done through journaling, thought recording, completing positive activities, self-talk and guided discovery and questioning. To measure the effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the BECK depression scale can be used, or any other kind of depression screening tool. Cognitive Behavioral therapy helps people suffering from anxiety or depression to change their negative thought process into a more positive form of thought. Once the person seeking treatment meets with a professional therapist, they can come discover which type of cognitive behavioral therapy works best for them.

STUDENT: Rocco Pacini

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Most smokers generally view smoking as a way to manage stress and promote relaxation however there are reasons to believe that smoking may cause a decline in mental health. Nicotine withdrawal from chronic smoking may lead to irritability and increased level of stress. Measuring the baseline mental health of smokers who continued smoking, stopped smoking and relapsed during the course of the studies, and smokers that quit smoking and using that data to compare their mental health after the studies to the baseline will be used to examine the association between smoking and mental health.

Keywords: Smoking cessation, mental health, nicotine, addiction, cancer, cigarettes, vape

STUDENT: Mary Anne Carachilo

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

In my research project, I am going to be researching the effect of non-pharmacological interventions in the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in women veterans. It is important that people start to recognize how bad post-traumatic stress disorder can be, not only for everyone in general, but also for veterans who have seen and heard things no one should ever have to see. Each and every day veterans are committing suicide or homicide due to their post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms that are untreated. Becoming distant, isolation, suicidal and homicidal ideations, and much more can lead to devastating outcomes. Focusing on all veterans is important, but for my project I am focusing solely on women. I feel as if women veterans are not paid enough attention too and it is important to recognize women can go through these awful effects as well. Doing non-pharmacological interventions is a better way to go because there is a lack of being on medications and the chance of overdosing both accidentally and intentionally.

STUDENT: Hannah Tolerico

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Generalized Anxiety Disorder affects about 19% adults in the United States each year. GAD is closely associated with many co-morbidities and the high usage of healthcare facilities within these patients. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used to reduce anxiety levels in patients with various mental health issues. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is just one of the many forms of psychological treatment. CBT involves a change in one’s thinking pattern which in result reduces anxiety. This strategy includes gaining a better understanding of the motivation by others, using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations, and reevaluating problems in the light of reality. Even though it is known to be effective there are still large gaps within the implementation of these strategies in today’s mental health practices. The question to be raised within this study is how does cognitive behavioral therapy affect a better quality of life and reduce anxiety level in these patients? The reviewed research will help look at the latest data on adult patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the measurements of weekly anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep, wellbeing, quality of life, and CBT skills.

STUDENT: Jonathan Gray

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

In planning the treatment of a patient who has been diagnosed with cancer, the use of chemotherapy and radiation is often capitalized on as the most effective. Studies have shown that the utilization of thermal therapy preoperatively being incorporated with such treatments can increase the rate at which cancer cells are destroyed. Hyperthermia increases efficiency by creating a state to which cancerous cells become more vulnerable to the desired action of chemotherapy and radiation. Thermal therapy is used by applying heat internal or externally depending on the location of cancer by usage of various tools such as probes. The heat found to be most beneficial in this therapy is 40 to 43 degrees Celsius or 104 to 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Promising research in using preoperative thermal therapy in conjunction with treatment, such as chemotherapy, has shown to have an increase in the remission rate, and survival rate, when compared to not using thermal therapy, which was significantly lower.

STUDENT: Allie Riley

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Adolescent females diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis that initiate early back bracing treatment are found to have less spinal curve progression during skeletal growth when adequately adhering to their bracing regimen. Early diagnosis of idiopathic scoliosis is a key factor in reducing the need for future surgical intervention of the female affected by this scoliosis of unknown cause. Proper compliance with back bracing treatment is the other key factor needed in predicting the final curve degree at skeletal maturity. Bracing is considered a conservative method at tackling idiopathic scoliosis curve progression, it is not a cure of scoliosis but the goal is to suppress the spinal curvature progression. Ultimately inhibiting the spinal curvature from reaching the degree where there is a negative impact on the females health or indicates need for surgical intervention. While bracing appears to be an easier intervention to reduce future surgical intervention, there are many factors that go into it. Wearing the brace correctly along with the female learning how to incorporate this treatment into their daily life can be significantly transformative and may be seen as a negative impact to the female adolescents everyday life. All of these factors can reduce compliance and do affect the patients outcome.

STUDENT: Lucy Adams

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Depression continues to be a major public health concern, and it is estimated that within the next twenty years, depression will be the leading cause of disability in high-income nations. It is associated with increased risk of suicide and impaired social and physical functioning. The use of pharmacotherapy continues to be the standard treatment for clinical depression and may be enough for many with depression; however, one-third of individuals will not respond to antidepressants. This type of depression in which individuals do not adequately respond to one or more antidepressant trial is referred to as treatment-resistant depression. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure where, under general anesthesia, the patient has small electrical currents passed through their brain which intentionally causes a brief seizure. Because of the possible risk of cognitive side effects, ECT is generally used as a “last resort” for people with treatment-resistant depression, bipolar depression, dementia, depression with psychosis, and others. The use of ECT in conjunction with antidepressants has shown to result in better outcomes and decreased relapse rates for individuals with treatment-resistant depression. The purpose of this research is to examine the latest research on the effects and outcomes of ECT on depression levels in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

STUDENTS: Lucy Adams, Logan DeSanto, Megan Lucey

PROJECT ADVISOR: Michael Evans

ABSTRACT

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness carried by black-legged ticks caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The bacterium has the potential to be transmitted when one tick attaches to an individual for 36-48 hours. The most prevalent areas for Lyme disease include wooded areas of the northeastern U.S. When a patient is diagnosed and treated in the early stages, they are usually able to recover completely. However, a diagnosis of Lyme disease is commonly delayed due to misattribution of the vague symptoms these patients present with, besides the common red, bulls-eye rash referred to as erythema migrans. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to recovery because of the lasting effects untreated Lyme Disease can cause. Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) occurs for many patients who are not diagnosed early or do not respond to treatment. Alternative therapy is then necessary to alleviate symptoms. In order to address the complex issues surrounding the treatment of Lyme disease and PTLDS, a case study is used to describe the events of a patient who presents to the emergency department with fever, fatigue, and a rash for the past three days. A literature review was used to gather scholarly articles to find best practices for patients with Lyme disease and PTLDS. Best practices included prevention and early diagnosis, antibiotic therapy, pain relief, and education of PTLDS. Nurses are able to utilize the case study to provide patients with higher quality care from the first visit with a patient presenting with such symptoms.